Enclosure for beds



March 24, 193$. R. v. RILEY 2,035,343

- ENCLOSURE FOR BEDS Filed Feb. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l' March 24, 1936. R. v. RILEY 2,035,343

ENCLOSURE FOR BEDS I Filed Feb. 15, 1955 2 Sheefcs-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENCLOSURE FOR BEDS Ruth V. Riley, Fayetteville, Ark.

Application February 15, 1935, Serial No. 6,728 3 Claims. (01. 5-97) This invention relates to an enclosure for beds, the primary object of the invention being to provide a guard for beds for preventing delirious, unconscious or feeble-minded patients or children from falling from the bed and aims to improve generally the construction as shown and described in my Patent No. 1,948,046.

An important object of the invention is to pro-.

vide a guard of this character embodying foldable side members moved in their active or inactive positions by a mechanical operating means forming a part of the device, the mechanical operating means adapted to secure the side members in various positions of adjustment, eliminating the necessity of providing auxiliary securing means such as screws, clamps or the like for'accomplishing this purpose.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a guard which may be readily and easily positioned on a bed or removed from the bed, should it be found desirable to use the bed without the guard.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a bed equipped with a guard, constructed in accordance with the invention. I

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the guard in its extended or guarding position.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a bed illustrating the guard in its collapsed or inactive position.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view and illustrating the inner side of the closure, the closure being in its inactive position, the view being taken at the center of the closure.

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken on line 'l-'! of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the head and foot sections of a. bed are indicated generally by the reference character 5, which head and foot sections are provided with channel bars 6 which have their open sides disposed inwardly towards each other, the channel bars being curved to conform to the shape of the head and foot sec- 6 tions.

Connecting the head and foot sections 5, at points directly under the channel bars 6, is a bar 1 which is formed with openings 8 disposed intermediate the ends of the bar I, as clearly 10 shown by Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings.

These openings 8- accommodate the flattened ends 9 of the guide members I 0, which are in the form of pipes curved to conform to the curvatures of the head and foot sections 5. At 15 the lower ends of these guide-members ID are sliding bolts II that are adapted to fit into openings formed in the side rails I2 of the bed frame, to the end that when the flattened ends 9 of the guide members ill have been positioned in the 20 openings 8, and the lower ends of the guide members I!) move to a position to engage the side rails l2, the sliding bolts will position themselves in the openings of the side rails, removably securing the guide members in position.

The inner surfaces of the guide members I0 are slotted. throughout their entire lengths as at l3, which slots are substantially wide throughout portions of their lengths as at M, forpurposes to be hereinafter more fully described.

Guideways are provided by the slots I3, and accommodate the heads l5 of the bolts l6 which are secured to the bars I! that provide the body portion of the guard, the bars being arranged parallel with respect to the side rails of the 5 bed and with respect to each other. The ends of the bars I! operate within the open sides of the channel bars 6 so that the bars I! provide a rigid structure when extended to their active positions to guard the occupant of the bed.

Positioned under each side rail of the bed frame, is an operating shaft l8 which is mounted in bearings l9 arranged at the ends of the bed frame, one end of each operating shaft being square in cross section to receive a crank indi- 45 cated by the reference character 20 whereby the shafts may be rotated.

These shafts are formed with pairs of oppositely threaded portions 2| arranged in spaced relation with each other throughout the lengths 50 of the shafts, which oppositely threaded portions 2| extend into the blocks 22 which have threaded bores cooperating with the threads of the oppositely threaded portions 2 I.

These blocks 22 provide supports for the lower- 55 most links 23 of the lazy tongs 24 which are connected with the bars IT at 25 so that movement of the lazy tongs will result in a relative movement of the bars II. It might be further stated that the connection between the links 23 of the lazy tongs and the blocks 22 is made through removable screws or bolts, so that by removing these screws or bolts the lazy tongs may be disconnected from the blocks, should it be desired to remove the guards at the sides of the bed Thus it will be seen that due to this construction the operating shafts may be rotated in one direction to extend the lazy tongs and consequently move the bars forming the guard to their extended positions and because the operating rods are formed with the threaded portions 2| which operate in threaded bores of the blocks 22, the bars I! may be raised to any desired height, where they will remain in such position without further securing means, it being impossible to move the bars I I either upwardly or downwardly by pressure directed to the bars.

Should it be desired to remove the bars, the bars are lowered to a position as shown by Figure 4 of the drawings, in which position the heads I5 of the bolts I6 occupy the widened portion of the slot I3 of the guide member with which they are associated, whereupon by bowing the bars I! slightly at points intermediate their ends, the heads I5 may be withdrawn from the slots of the guide members, and the ends of the bars removed from the channel bars 6. The guide members Ill may now be released by disengaging the sliding bolts I I, swinging the guide members upwardly until it is possible to pull the flattened ends 9 thereof from the openings of the bar I.

It will also be noted that to position a guard of this character, the guide members ID are positioned in a manner as previously described, and the bars I! are bowed and the ends thereof are positioned within the channel bars. When the bars I1 assume their normal positions parallel with the side rails of the frame, the heads I5 will move into the widened portions of the slots I3, where the bars I! are held in position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. The combination with a bed having head and foot sections and side rails connecting the head and foot sections, of a guard for the bed, comprising a frame including a longitudinally extended central bar connected with the head and foot sections, curved bars disposed intermediate the ends of the bed and connected with the first mentioned bar, the lower ends of the curved bars resting On the side rails of the bed, guard bars means for slidably connecting the guard bars to the curved bars, said guard engaging the head and foot sections, said bars adapted to move to a position closing the upper portion of the bed and means for operating the guard bars.

2. The combination with a bed having head and foot sections and side rails connecting the head and foot sections, of a guard for the bed, comprising a frame including a central bar ex tending longitudinally of the bed and connected with the head and foot sections, curved guide members removably connected to the central bar and side rails, said curved guide members having slots formed in the inner sides thereof and extended throughout the length of the curved guide members, movable guard bars extending longitudinally of the bed and adapted to move to enclose the bed, headed bolts on the movable guard bars, the heads of the bolts being disposed in the slots of the guide bars securing the guard bars to the curved guide bars, and means for operating the guard bars.

3. The combination with a bed having head and foot sections and side rails connecting the head and foot sections, of a guard embodying a central bar connecting the head and foot sections and having openings disposed intermediate the ends thereof, curved guide bars having reduced ends fitted in the openings of the central bar removably securing the curved guide bars to the central bar, movable guard bars having their ends slidably connected with the head and foot sections, means for removably connecting the guard bars to the curved guide bars, and means for operating the guard bars.

RUTH V. RILEY. 

